Monday, May 28, 2012

Our new neighbors (Joe & Kathie) love to camp, and they were telling us how much they love Prophetstown State Park. We decided to give it a try for Memorial Day weekend, and we found that they are absolutely right ~ it’s a great park, pretty area, LOTS to do in the Lafayette area…an all-around great place to camp!

We had a few little obstacles (like kids with tummy troubles, seriously hot weather, and a fridge that wasn’t cooling properly leaving us with spoiled meat) but overall, we had a very good weekend!

The boys were SO excited to go camping for the first time this year! They obviously both remembered camping in the past, and they were crazy-excited to go again!

It’s SO much work camping with little ones, but it’s so very worthwhile. I love how we’re able to spend so much quality time together while camping!

Jensyn has no recollection of camping last year, but she sure loved it this year!

There’s a working 1920s farm at Prophetstown. You can tour the farmhouse and the barns. The farmhouse has lots of hands-on things for kids ~ trying out the old-fashioned carpet sweeper, using a handmade fly swatter, trying out a (needle-less) sewing machine, playing with old-fashioned toys, etc.

a pedal-powered player piano ~ it was a lot of fun to try it out!

The boys enjoyed the house, but they LOVED the tractors and animals. Jensyn went nuts over the chickens and kittens. She got all excited to pet the kitties!

There’s also a (very small) Native American village. We took a wagon ride to the village to check it out. There are only a few old buildings there, but the tour guide was able to share some neat facts about the history of the village. The fact I found most interesting is that these Native Americans were killed because “The Prophet” told them that they would be immune to the white man’s bullets.

We haven’t had a casual family picture in forever! We were all hot & sticky, but hey…we were stuck on the wagon ride for 15 minutes, so we might as well use the time wisely ;)

Thank goodness for a/c in the camper! It was around 95 degrees all weekend! We spent an hour or two in the camper for naps/quiet time during the hottest part of each afternoon.

My neighbor April bring a small pool for their kids when they go camping. I thought that was a bit silly, but knowing the weather forecast we decided to give it a try. This was a big hit with our kids! (Jensyn kept grabbing gravel and tossing it in the pool, though.)

The kids loved the beautiful playground at Prophetstown.

Everything is clean and new, and it’s really big!

I didn’t get any pictures of her, but Alex made a new little friend named Sara. He and Sara had a LOT of fun chasing each other around the playsets!

Jensyn tried the baby swings, and then she just crawled around and entertained herself.

We went back to the farm a second time…

We visited Tropicanoe Cove waterpark in Lafayette to cool off, since there’s no pool or lake at the campground. Alex called it “Terrific Canoe” waterpark ;)

It’s a decent sized waterpark, and it has a big splash and play area for the little ones. We were shocked that it only cost $20 for our whole family!

Alex played there for a bit, and then Daddy took him to the deep water. I stayed in the splash area with Max & Jensyn. Jensyn loved to just crawl in the shallow water; Max went on the same little dolphin slide again and again and again…

We just tried for one good picture, and then we put the camera way to enjoy the afternoon. As those of you with little ones know, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to make three children look in the same direction at the same time.

All three kids enjoyed just playing at our campsite.

Digging in the dirt with sticks…you’d think this girl had big brothers ;)

We bought a new canopy/clothes drying rack. Unfortunately, the shade was never actually UNDER the canopy! ;)

Even at night, it was HOT with a campfire! The kids still loved roasting marshmallows, though. Jensyn had her first gooey, melty marshmallow, and she LOVED it and squealed for more. It was getting dark, but I attempted pictures. I love string of gooey marshmallow between her & Max.

We also roasted hot dogs, made pudgy pies, had sandwiches, and made yummy breakfasts each morning. Unfortunately, due to spoiled meat, we did NOT get to make hamburgers or pork chops. Instead, we visited the local Burger King and Subway…but we appreciated the a/c and icy cold drinks! ;)

Just a few more pictures of our spunky little girl exploring the camper: